5 Sentences about Michael Collins
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Michael Collins (born October 31, 1930) is an American astronaut who flew the Apollo 11 command module Columbia around the Moon while his crewmates, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, made the first crewed landing on the surface. He was a test pilot and major general in the U.S. Air Force Reserves.
Michael Collins
Portrait of Collins in spacesuit
Collins in April 1969
12th Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
In office
January 6, 1970 – April 11, 1971
President
Richard Nixon
Preceded by
Dixon Donnelley
Succeeded by
Carol Laise
Personal details
Born
October 31, 1930 (age 90)
Rome, Italy
Nationality
American
Spouse(s)
Patricia Finnegan
(m. 1957; died 2014)
Relations
James Collins Jr. (brother)
J. Lawton Collins (uncle)
Children
3, including Kate
Parents
James Collins
Virginia C. née Stewart
Alma mater
United States Military Academy, B.S. 1952
Occupation
Fighter pilot, test pilot
Signature
Military service
Allegiance
United States
Branch/service
United States Air Force
Years of service
1952–1970 (active duty)
1970–1982 (reserves)
Rank
US-O8 insignia.svg Major General
Status
Retired (1982)
Awards
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Flying Cross
Legion of Merit
Presidential Medal of Freedom
NASA Distinguished Service Medal
NASA Exceptional Service Medal
Space career
NASA Astronaut
Time in space
11 days, 2 hours, 04 minutes, 43 seconds
Selection
1963 NASA Group 3
Total EVAs
2
Total EVA time
1 hour 28 minutes
Missions
Gemini 10, Apollo 11
Mission insignia
Gemini 10 logo Apollo 11 logo
Retirement
January 1970
Collins graduated from the United States Military Academy with the Class of 1952. He joined the United States Air Force, and flew F-86 Sabre fighters at Chambley-Bussières Air Base, France. He was accepted into the U.S. Air Force Experimental Flight Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in 1960, also graduating from the Aerospace Research Pilot School (Class III).
Selected as part of NASA's third group of 14 astronauts in 1963, Collins flew in space twice. His first spaceflight was on Gemini 10 in 1966, in which he and Command Pilot John Young performed orbital rendezvous with two spacecraft and undertook two extravehicular activities (EVAs, also known as spacewalks). On the 1969 Apollo 11 mission he became one of 24 people to fly to the Moon, which he orbited thirty times. He was the fourth person (and third American) to perform a spacewalk, the first person to have performed more than one spacewalk, and, after Young, who flew the command module on Apollo 10, the second person to orbit the Moon alone.
After retiring from NASA in 1970, Collins took a job in the Department of State as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. A year later, he became the director of the National Air and Space Museum, and held this position until 1978, when he stepped down to become undersecretary of the Smithsonian Institution. In 1980, he took a job as vice president of LTV Aerospace. He resigned in 1985 to start his own consulting firm. Along with his Apollo 11 crewmates, Collins was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 and the Congressional Gold Medal in 2011.
Inspired by John Glenn, Michael Collins was chosen by NASA to be part of the third group of astronauts. His first spaceflight was the Gemini 10 mission, where he performed a spacewalk. His second was Apollo 11 — the first lunar landing in history. Collins received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
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